Life is Messed Up
by The Joeker
Summary: After the events that changed Max's life forever were over(or more accurately, never happened) she is trying her best to move on and adjust to life without her BFF Chloe. But when two mysterious exchange students from the UK arrive, Max's life is once again changed. But is it for better or worse? Max is always the odd one out, but not this time. Life is really messed up isn't it?
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Arcadia Bay

A/N: Hey guys, Joeker here with another story, this one is co-written with my other best friend Lee, yes we both star in it, using last names of our friends instead etc. the fucking publisher won't let me add two OC characters so this is a JulietxOC story as well just in case you need to know. This story is also British. Very British. Scouse in fact, so look up the accent if you don't know what it sounds like. Image credit goes to DemonLeon3D. That's all, thank you.

Life is Messed Up, Part 1: Life Without You

Chapter 1: Welcome to Arcadia Bay

As Maxine Caulfield sat in the Two Whales Diner, in the booth her and Chloe shared in the short few days they had together(short?! she kept rewinding so it must accumulate to at least two weeks!) and thought hard, about everything, she had spent 5 days with Chloe, 5 days: in a world nobody but her knew existed, was it a blessing, a curse? Both? Neither? She didn't know. All she knew was her friend was at peace, and she was glad of that.

"Honey? Are you... Ok?" Asked Joyce.

"Huh? Oh, hey Joyce, I'm fine, sad... But fine." Answered Max as honestly as she could.

"Well, you just come to David or me if you need anything darlin' you hear?" She asked Max.

"I know, thanks Joyce, I'll come straight to you or David, thanks." Smiled Max as Joyce was called over by a customer.

'Well, back to the norm I guess, Max Caulfield vs. The Universe.' She thought to herself as she finished her coffee, life was good, Nathan was facing a murder charge, Jefferson was in prison and Kate was alive and well, and the Boretex Club not being complete douches was a plus as well. Although she had lost her best friend, Max had never been so content with life. Except when Chloe and her used to chill on Chloe's bed and talk, or just... Lie there. Thinking.

Max got up to leave but Joyce stopped her in her tracks to speak to her.

"Look, I know it's not the best time, but you need a friend right now, there's a foreign exchange happenin' tomorrow. Students from all over the world'll be here, but the focus is Britain, Blackwell wants their honest opinion of our education system, they're arriving by bus tomorra, the Principle's probably gonna announce it as a surprise, but get here at about 6:30 and they'll be here havin' breakfast. You'll get ta meet em' first and get a sneak peek." Smiled Joyce.

"You know what? That sounds great, I'll be here." Nodded Max as she left to go back to her dorm.

Nothing of interest happened throughout the rest of the day, she hung with Alyssa, Brooke and Warren, who had gotten together. Brooke finally worked up the courage to ask him out and he accepted! Max was super happy for both of them, Stella and Daniel had actually gotten together, life was surprisingly working out well.

…

-The next day-

Max woke at 6:00 and began her walk to the diner as no buses ran at that time, by the time she got there it was about 6:45, she entered the diner to find it mostly empty apart form Joyce.

"Oh, did I miss them?" She asked, but saw Joyce look past her, she turned and almost jumped when she found two boys standing there, one was slightly chubby, white with an afro... Ughh… She wasn't sure how she felt about that. He had a dark yellow and black striped hoodie, jeans with red Slazenger shoes.

The other boy was almost the opposite: tall, muscular, light black hair that was spiked, deep blue eyes, Adidas backpack on, a black Nike hoodie with the hood up, black tracksuit pants and black Nike trainers. She couldn't make out his face because of the hood he had on.

"Err, scuse me love? You're in our way." Said the chubby one, she heard they were scouse, whatever that meant.

"Oh, sorry." She said and quickly moved.

"It's OK, no 'arm done." He said, they moved past her, the other seemed quiet, he gestured to Max's usual booth and they sat down. The quiet one seemed to have a limp, it didn't make him that slow and wasn't all that noticeable unless you paid attention, and Max always did.

"So that's them? What about the others?" Asked Max.

"Ask 'em." Said Joyce with a shrug.

"Ahh, this is cosy, much better than our shit cafes, bars and restaurants." Said the chubby one, obviously the talker. Max walked over, unsure what to expect.

"Umm, excuse me?" She asked, the quiet one never spared a glance, but the chubby one looked over to her with a look of question, she used chubby lightly, he was slightly overweight she'd say.

"Yeah? We in your seat?" He asked.

"Kinda, but that's not-" He started.

"Oh look 'ere lad, we're in the Princesses seat." He said to his friend, wow, what a dick.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened, the quiet boy slapped his friend across the face.

"Talk like a bitch, get hit like a bitch." He muttered, she could barely make it out.

"Sorry lad, just nervous bein' in a new place. Ear yarr, 'ere's ya seat back.." It sounded like he said here ya are but bunched into two words instead of three. They both got up and moved, Max still couldn't see his face and he didn't look at her.

"Actually, I wanted to ask where the others are." Explained Max.

"Oh, the others? Nah, they're not comin'." He said.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Dunno, soz, they apparently got a better offer from another school. Disappointed? Sorry, you're stuck with us." Chuckled the bigger one. Truthfully, she was glad there wouldn't be so many people on campus.

She sat down as Joyce walked over to them, the big one wolf whistled.

"Sup love? You're lookin' pretty, whats yer name?" He asked.

"I'm Joyce." She greeted, Max looked at her and saw her blush.

"I'll introduce meself later, after we're settled in, k?" He asked, she nodded. "Sweet! OK... Nothin' beats cheese an beans on toast for brekkie." He said.

She heard nothing from the other, but she managed to twist her neck enough to see him point at an item, she nodded and he nodded back and Max caught a smile directed at Joyce, but nothing else.

Joyce walked away and called their order.

"Really lad? Bacon, eggs and sausage? bacon crispy, eggs scrambled and sausage not over done?" She glanced the big one shaking his head a little, did the quiet one just order her favorite?


	2. Chapter 2: Analysis

A/N: Reviews people! You know that box at the bottom of the page? Use it! if you don't like this tell me why! Or if you do let me know! Come on! Anyway, next chapter:

Chapter 2: Analysis

-Later that day-

Max was still thinking about that encounter in the diner, she didn't even see the guys face but by what he ordered he must be like her male equivalent or something, nobody else usually orders that.

She shook her head, it was just breakfast and she was already comparing them? Too many movies.

She walked into Art class and saw the boy take a seat on Kate's table, he had his hood down and she saw his face properly, Kate looked as if she was about to have a heart attack with him sitting only across from her, the Principle had made the announcement earlier, and had said we need to make the best impression possible.

The boy had a tattoo on the back of his neck that read:

'Always Remember:

15/04/1989'

Was that an important date? He also had a tattoo on the left side of his neck, a wolf tattoo and it was howling and on the right side was a wolf that was not howling. In the middle of his throat was a wolf growling, getting ready to attack. Whatever that meant to him as well, he was full of mysteries. He also had a white scar, running the height of his right cheek and ending on his temple and jaw respectively.

Their new teacher was another man, this time called Mr. Marcus Eric and another famous photographer, apparently also from Britain. Max had seen his works, dark gritty, portraying life in rundown areas. He walked into class with a slight moviestar walk, a bounce in his step and a smile.

"Hi everyone, my names Mr. Eric and I'm your new Art teacher, I know the previous teacher was a weirdo in a really uncool way, but I'm a weirdo in a good way, now we also have a new student starting today as well, also from Britain, my son, Joseph." Everybody looked to him as he stood up, his dad smiling proud.

"Sup lads? My name's Joseph, but I prefer Joe and I'm from Bootle in Britain." He said, he sounded more clear than his best friend, who was attending Science instead but still had quite an accent.

"His other friend Lee Dacey is also attending this school but is doing Science instead, now-" Started Eric. Max took in every bit of information he said subconsciously, but was analysing Joe, he was an anomaly, usually people fit into one group or another around here, but he didn't. He was quiet, seemed smart, almost a nerd from what she could tell. When he was on his phone in the diner, he was on some pretty nerdy websites that could give Warren a run for his geekiness, and that is saying something. But he also seemed to purchase a bike online, a classic style chopper, custom paintjob it seemed.

"Are we alive?" Asked Eric, everybody but Joe stared at her, but Joe was buried in his notebook, was Mr. Eric talking to her-? Oh shit!

"Err, yes sir." She answered with a nod, she hadn't realised she'd taken a picture of Joe while analysing him, no one seemed to notice… oh no! What should she do? Keep the picture or tear it up?

She kept the picture and hoped Joe didn't find out she'd totally been creeping on him, staring at him, the whole nine yards it could take to be put away for stalking!

'Max, calm down, you're not in trouble.' she said and started to consciously pay attention.

After class, Max sighed, she had learned a lot today. And not just about the new kid. Her new teacher was awesome.

She got up from her seat and saw Victoria sucking up to the new teacher, he was cool like Jefferson for sure. He liked to have a laugh and made some funny jokes about art, he even bashed his own artwork and let us tear it to pieces with criticism, but with one challenge: the criticisms had to be funny.

He had a thinning head of black hair and a few spots but otherwise was quite attractive. For an older man anyway, Max wasn't interested but she was surprised when he mentioned he was single in passing.

As she got up she decided to talk to the new kid, she wanted to be the first to welcome him to Blackwell she tapped his shoulder and he turned around, he didn't seem to react as he saw her.

"Hi, I just want to welcome you to Blackwell." Smiled Max.

"Err thanks lov- Err mate?" He seemed to ask her permission to call her something.

"Maxine, Maxine Caulfield, but everyone calls me Max." She informed, shaking his hand.

"Just your friends or everyone as in everyone?" He asked.

"Everyone." She said.

"Do you prefer Max?" He asked.

"I don't know, I think she's cool." I said, oh god Max, what are you saying?

She stopped as he actually laughed at her joke. He looked cute with a smile.

"That was good Max, if may call you Max?" He asked.

"Of course." She said as they walked out of class together.

"That's my kinda humour, punny." He said as they walked the corridor together, people giving them looks like they gave Max when she first hung out with Kate.

"Mine too. So, do you like Blackwell so far?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do actually." He said with a nod, she liked the talkative side of him he seemed to always have a smile.

"So what were you studying back home?" Asked Max.

"Public and uniformed services, and photography." He said.

'Then you'd sure like David...' she thought with a chuckle to herself.

As they were about to enter the main foyer when guess who?

…

David stepped in front of them.

"Excuse me." He said, gaining our attention, we stopped and David had an unamused look on his face as he walked close to the new kid, suddenly it became a smiley face.

"Yes?" Asked Joe.

"Welcome to Blackwell." Said David and shook Joe's hand.

"Thank you... Officer... Madsen." He said, squinting to read David's badge.

"I'm not a real police officer, I'm just a security guard." Said David, Max chuckled to herself again when she heard how respectful he was being compared to his hardass attitude.

"So? By your posture, look and demeanour I would say... Ex-army?" Guessed Joe.

"You have a good eye, served my years." Explained David.

"Then you have more than earned the respect you deserve." Saluted Joe and David saluted back before going on his way.

"Well, that went better than thought it would" Chuckled Max nervously.

"Yeah, my run-ins with representatives of the law usually end up a lot different." Agreed Joe.

"Why?" asked Max.

"Oh err- shit, Lee's yellin' for me, catch ya later Max." said Joe as he ran to his friend.


	3. Chapter 3: The Ass of Destiny

A/N: Thanks for the review CassieHU! 1 review. Come on! I need to know how I can improve or if you like it or not and why! Anywho, next chapter comin' at ya! Without further ado:

Chapter 3: The Ass of Destiny

As Lee and Joe took their seats in the booth next to Max's, Lee could tell Joe was excited.

"What's up man? Waffles please beautiful." Said Lee as Joyce came over.

"I met this girl, Maxine, the bird who was here yesterday. Bacon and pancakes please." Ordered Joe with a smile to Joyce.

"Come on lad, don't let this be another Abi situation." Said Lee with a tiredness in his voice, not from school, from what Joe just told him.

"Nah, it's not, I don't fancy her or anythin' lad, we just need some friends man." Countered Joe.

"Sound then, innit? Nothin' t' shit your pants about. You order yer bike yet kid?" asked Lee.

"Fuckin' A. I 'ave wasted, no time at fuckin' all." Said Joe with his index finger and thumb pinched, pushing toward Lee and pulling it back to accentuate his point.

Finally their dinner came and they dug in.

"When are ya gettin' yer bike lad?" asked Lee.

"Soon as I've had me dinner son." Replied Joe.

"Sweet, I'm getting mine later tonight." Nodded Lee with a smile as he ate.

When they finished, Joe wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Right, I'm off kid." Said Joe and shook Lee's hand by holding his hand out cupped, Lee gripped his thumb with his own so his palm was across Joe's palm and they lifted their hands up and then back down, sliding their hands away before fist bumping.

"In a bit." Said Lee, still eating.

As Joe went to the door he saw Max come in.

"Maxi! Sup?" exclaimed Joe as he repeated the same hand action with her, she responded hesitantly, when she gripped his thumb with hers he pulled her close and they bumped shoulders, he patted her back with a curled fist.

"Err, I'm fine." She replied nervously as he let go, as usual, holding her left arm with her right hand nervously.

"Sound then, in a bit." He nodded with a slightly wider smile than is normal as he left.

Joe left the diner and hopped on the bus to the guy selling the motorbikes. He got there and when he saw his bike he felt like a kid on Christmas.

"That is fuckin nice lad." Nodded Joe as he circled the bike.

"I know, I built it didn't I?" asked the man, Marvy, Marvy's Motors was his shop.

"Fair enough kid." Smiled Joe with a 'nice' expression on his face.

"Good enough?" asked the guy, the bike had two gold wolves going along the side of the jet black body and the wheel rims were shaped like a wolf face.

He got on the bike and was given a black helmet with the glass visor acting as the wolf's mouth, if pulled up it looks like the wolf is howling toward the sky with its mouth open.

"Nice lad, I'm gonna be enjoying this." Joe nodded his head and gave him the finger as he sped off, the sound of the motor revving as he did. Marvy just shook his head.

...

-2 hours later-

He pulled up at the school, skidding to a halt on the bike as he turned to the side, parking it side-on. He had just rode his bike all over Arcadia Bay.

He took his helmet off, turned his bike off and tucked his helmet under his arm, shaking his hair loose.

He strode toward the school with a skip in his step(although that may have been the limp...), everyone was staring at him. He had an updated wardrobe, a black leather jacket with another wolf design on the back and steel studs in, dotted around the jacket, He had black biker boots with a steel toe, black leather biker gloves, and black motorbike pants. As he walked he put on Barbour brand men's black sunglasses with what looked like gold rims on them. On the side of his bike was a holder and it was holding a cane, with a silver wolf's head as the handle of the cane, he picked it up and used it, his limp didn't seem that bad, but it must cause him some pain if he has to use a cane.

"Nice outfit man." Said Lee and they shoulder bumped.

"Biker leather man." Nodded Joe as they made their way inside the building.

"What lesson now?" asked Lee.

"Err… PE, swimming." Replied Joe.

"This place has a pool!? Fuckin' sweet." Laughed Lee.

"I know, the pool buildin' 's… over there I think." Said Joe, pointing as they walked up the steps from the car park.

…

They entered the pool building and saw two lines, girls and boys.

Joe unzipped his leather jacket as they entered, revealing a grey t-shirt.

"Good evening, for the sake of our two new students, my name is Mrs. Edwards, the PE teacher."

"And my name is Mr. Ferdinand." Said the other.

"Hey dude, you belong in the other line." Snickered Joe as he whispered.

"Yeah, but I'm not the one with tits." Shot back Lee.

"They're called pecs… Bitch" Replied Joe. They both giggled quietly to each other.

"Ok, now that we're ready, let's go!" exclaimed Mrs. Edwards.

They went into the changing rooms and undressed, Joe and Lee were given empty lockers next to each other. Joe put his cane in the locker under his clothes.

Joe had more muscles than most of the guys in the class because he was going to try for the British Royal Marines when he completed his courses, so he worked out as much as possible.

He had a beautiful tattoo of a black wolf up half of his left side, starting at his waist and ending at the shoulder, it was sitting down, its head also facing left, it's nose was his actual shoulder. On Joe's back he had the coloured England flag and underneath it in bold **'ENGLAND 1966!'** Joe's right side of his chest had the name, in fancy writing (Blackadder ITC font)'The Wolf'. On Lee in the same place was 'The Crow' also in fancy writing. They then took their pants off, on Joe's right leg, he had a wolf looking like it was stalking prey, his foot was the wolf's tail and it was going upwards, the tattoo ran up to his waist, its snout ending when his leg did.

Lee also had three tattoos of a crow on the left, middle and right side of his neck, one was perched on the left, in the middle its wings were flared, readying for flight, on the right it was actually in flight. It was eerily similar to Joe's tattoos. Lee also had a crow up his left side, perched and facing left. Lee and Joe each had a single ring on their right ring fingers with jewels. Joe's was a platinum ring with a diamond in the shape of a wolf's face, while Lee's was a gold ring with a ruby shaped like a crow.

"I'm goin' the bog lad." Said Lee.

"I'll tell him you'll be waiting." Smiled Joe with a wink, proud of his joke.

"…I'll get you back when I've been for a piss." Said Lee, pointing at first and opening his mouth to say something but stopping and saying that instead.

Joe turned his head and saw everyone staring at him, he had nothing on so he smiled and said:

"Admirin' the Ass of Destiny boys?" he asked with a laugh as every boy instantly shook their heads and stammered before going off to get changed themselves.

Joe put his(yet again) wolf swimming trunks on and when Lee got back he put his (again) crow swimming trunks on.

They all laughed as they were walking to the pool, across the pool was the girls and Joe stopped laughing, in fact he stopped moving when he saw Max, it wasn't he was staring at any particular part of her because he wasn't rude like that but he stopped in his tracks… he wasn't sure why. She definitely looked… well, beautiful is the word, but he didn't exactly fancy her… it was strange...

"Come on bitch! Whatcha lookin' at? Oh come on prick, I fuckin' warned ya! Looks like someone's got a crush." exclaimed Lee, teasing and he slapped his back. Joe didn't actually like her, but… ah it was complicated!

But Lee also stopped when he spotted Juliet by the pool.

"Looks like I'm not the only one!" exclaimed Joe as Lee stared, Lee shoved him in the pool, but on the way down, Joe grabbed Lee's leg and they both fell in, laughing their asses off.

"Fuckin'… shit!" gargled Lee as he went under a few times trying to get out only for Joe to pull him back in, Joe trying to get out and Lee pulling him back in, and so the cycle repeated for about a minute.

"Goddamn prick!" said Joe. The whole class was just staring at them.

"What's going on here!?" asked Mrs Edwards as they both climbed out at the same time.

"Sorry miss." They both said in tandem.

"That's what I thought, what happened?" asked miss.

"Well, this prick here pushed me in, like this." Said Joe and shoved Lee in the pool.

"Hey!" said Mr. Ferdinand as Lee climbed out, spitting out a mouthful of water.

"Right, this won't do. Since you're both already excellent at swimming, 10 laps." Said Mrs. Edwards.

"Come on miss, you can do better." Smiled Joe.

"15 laps."

"Oh come on." Taunted Joe, yawning.

"25 laps."

"I don't wake up in the morning for that." Brushed off Joe.

"50 laps." She concluded.

"Deal, woohoo!" yelled Joe, diving in and he swam into a secluded lane, Lee following as they began their laps, despite his leg Joe was still a fast swimmer, although not as fast as he used to be as claimed by Lee.

After 10 minutes, they were at it again, Lee pulled Joe's leg, sending him backwards and dazing him, Joe managed to grab Lee's trunks and pulled them down, Lee stopped as Joe sped past and he tried to pull his trunks up, as he did, he caught Juliet's eye. She looked at him and he blushed, managing to completely pull them up, hopefully she couldn't see because of the water.

Juliet turned away with a blush and Lee shook his head and kept swimming, no way he was catching up with Joe…

After the laps were finished they both swam to different sides of the pool for a break.

"Sup Maxi?" said Joe as he saw her sitting on the edge of the pool, he was bright red, panting and probably sweating. Max didn't actually mind him calling her Maxi, it was a nice nickname she thought, and it made her feel special he had his own nickname for her.

"Hi Joe, damn, you're a hella good swimmer. 50 laps… wow, I couldn't do that." she said with a blush.

"Cheers for that, practise practise practise! I'm fuckin' properly worn out." He still had a quite thick scouser accent but still not as thick as Lee.

"I'll bet." She laughed.

"Yeah, anyway, in a bit Maxi." He said, fist bumping her as he pushed off the side, getting out on the other side.


	4. Chapter 4: Party Time!

A/N: Thank you guest! I will continue! sorry for the delay. Life is Messed Up!

-1 hr later-

After lesson the lads got changed and showered before exiting the P.E hall so they could wash the chlorine off.

They were laughing their heads off, joking around.

"Fuckin' 'ell lad." Laughed Lee at the joke as they scrubbed down facing away from each other, as a prank one of the guys flushed the toilet and everyone except Joe and Lee ran out because of the freezing of the showers.

"What's the matter boys? Can't handle the cold?" asked Joe as he kept scrubbing he had a smile on his face, he'd taken so many cold showers to keep healthy his body had adjusted to taking them regularly.

When they had finished they exited the swimming hall.

"Yeah lad." Chuckled Joe, he put his two fingers on his forehead and pushed out in a mock salute to Max, it was his way of waving as he walked with Lee to the parking lot.

"You givin' me a lift lad?" asked Lee as Joe got on his bike and revved the engine.

"Nah lad, yer on yer own." Laughed Joe as he sped off on his bike to ride around, giving Lee the finger.

"Fuckin' prick." Mumbled Lee with a smile as he headed to the bus station.

He hopped on the bus when it arrived and headed to the dealers.

He saw the girl from before at the swimming pool at the dealers. He walked up and heard them arguing.

"Look sweetheart, I don't sell to just anyone, you gotta have the bills." Said the dealer, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"I have the money!" she argued.

"Fucks sake, I'll pay Marvy lad." Said Lee, interrupting.

"Ah, well I know you've got the money, fine." Nodded the dealer as Lee paid for her ride.

"It'll be ready in a few days." Said the guy as he walked Lee's bike out to him.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift back to Blackwell." Said Lee and she got on the back as Lee put his helmet on, his visor looked like the birds open beak or closed beak depending if was open or not.

"Oh thanks, Juliet by the way." She said and put her hands around his waist to hold on, Lee took a breath and nodded to her, it reminded him of his old girlfriend and how she used to hold him.

"Lee." Replied Lee and sped off, a crow's talons were his rims and the birds open beak was his headlight.

They rode in silence as they pulled into Blackwell's parking lot and he parked his bike next to Joe's and they both got off.

"That's a fast bike, five minutes to Blackwell from town must be a new record." Laughed Juliet.

"Yep, I pay for the best." Nodded Lee as he shook his afro out when he took his helmet off.

"Thanks for the ride Lee." Smiled Juliet.

"No problem." Said Lee as he went to the boy's dorm.

…

"Lad, I met someone to, her name's Juliet lad." Said Lee as they did their bro shake.

"See lad? We got friends here." Nodded Joe.

Joe's dorm was plain, it had pictures on the wall of important events, him getting his tattoos, individual pictures for each tattoo. Him getting his first bike. Him with his GCSE results. And then him and Lee on their bikes, the shot was taken from somebody crouching down in front of their bikes off slightly to the left of them both, they both had one of their feet on the ground, their headlights on and their helmets under their arms, they seemed to be just looking forward.

They both had pure biker leather on, shorter jackets than they wore now, they had combat boots on instead of their black steel toe motorcycle boots. The closest on the right was Joe with his right foot on the ground, his hair gelled up sort of like Elvis and the furthest on the left was Lee with his left foot on the ground with a short head of hair, they only looked about 13 but both still looked tough as nails.

"I know lad." Chuckled Lee, suddenly there was a knock on their door, both looked at each other and Joe answered it.

"Sup?" asked Joe, only opening the door slightly so the person couldn't see his body or his whole room.

"Hi guys, my name's Hayden, I was wondering if you want to come to one of our parties, everyone's invited, it's to formally welcome you to Blackwell, it's being done by the Vortex Club in the pool building, bring a date if you want." Said Hayden.

"Sure, when is it?" asked Joe.

"Tonight at 6:30." He said, it was about 5:00 now.

"Dress code?" asked Joe.

"None." Replied Hayden.

"K, we'll be there." nodded Joe and shut the door.

"I heard, party? Sounds like our scene." Nodded Lee.

"I agree, let's get ready." Agreed Joe.

Suddenly, Joe got a text, from a girl called Victoria.

'hey, saw u in Art clas 2day ;) thought you mite need a d8 for the party? ;P'

Joe texted back 'No thanks, I'm good, thanks for the offer.'

-1 hr 30 mins later-

The party was already in full swing, the Vortex Club had been planning a party for weeks and the new arrivals gave them an excuse.

"Yes! This is what I'm fuckin' talkin' about!" yelled Joe as they entered.

"Yes man! Let's hit the bar!" agreed Lee.

Joe had a black trenchcoat on a white shirt with the top button undone, a loose hanging tie, black dress pants, black oxfords and a fedora

Lee had a black hoodie on, black tracksuit pants on and white trainers.

They went around the pool to the bar and ordered Jaegarbombs.

"Man, The Spider would've enjoyed this." Chuckled Joe.

"Yeah man, shame he's not 'ere." agreed Lee as they down their drinks and ordered more.

"You 'aven't talked about her much since what happened kid." Said Joe.

"I know, I just want to forget, isn't that why we came here?" asked Lee.

"We came here to forget our two enemies." Rectified Joe.

"True, to The Wolf and The Crow." Lee raised his glass.

"May they rest in peace." Joe joined his glass with Lee's and they took down their drink in one and after they did they started laughing.

"Next on stage… huh? Oh, err nevermind, or next act has cancelled at the last minute… hold on…" said the announcer, the music stops and there were a bunch of murmurs.

"No music?" asked Lee to Joe.

"Can't have that…" smiled Joe.

…

"Actually, change of plans, the next band is Made in Britain!" exclaimed the announcer. Joe and lee walked on the stage, Lee was the electric guitarist.

"Good evening cocksuckers!" yelled Joe, everyone laughed. "And gentlemen!" everyone laughed harder. "You alright?"

"Yeah!"

"Louder, you alright?!" he asked louder. Everyone yelled.

"LOUDER, you alright?!"

"YEAH!"

"LETS KICK THIS IN THE DICK!" yelled Joe before pausing. "I've gotta get my guitar." He concluded quietly, everyone laughed and stared. "What?" he asked.

He strummed a few chords.

"Who 'ere's in a relationship?!" he asked, a few cheers, most saying quiet. "Who 'ere's in a fucking relationship, I'm not gonna follow you 'ome! Who here's in a relationship?!" a lot more cheers. "Yeah, fuck you." Concluded Joe quietly again. A light guitar tune started.

"Let's get married, in the springtime, in the sunlight, let's get married. You can wear your hair up like a halo 'round your head, I can say I'll love you till the day that I am dead, lets get married in the sunshine, lets get married, oh oh." He said, suddenly the beat picked up.

(ht

tps

:/

w w w. you tube watch ? v= Dnqckb 6z5Mc without spaces or type in: Let's get Married – Nick Helm Live At The Electric)

When they finished they exited the stage and got another drink.

Joe saw Maxine standing in the corner, looking out of her comfort zone, she was shy. He felt much the same without Lee, he was just one guy who put on an act to be tough, even though he wasn't on his own.

He sighed… he didn't know why he got really nervous around her, but he was, Lee nudged him and Joe walked over to her.

"Hey Maxi." Said Joe and surprisingly to her, he hugged her.

"Oh, hey Joe, good to see you." Smiled Maxine nervously as he let go.

"Fancy a dance?" asked Joe and Max went bright red, blushing.

"Wha- err… oh." She didn't answer coherently.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Coaxed Joe.

"Ok…" she said hesitantly.

They went to the dance floor Duran Duran- Hungry Like The Wolf started to play.

"This is my jam Maxi! Come on!" said Joe. They both danced together, not caring that people could see, near the end, Joe even took her hand in his as they danced.

Afterwards, they found their way off the dance floor.

"Hey, so where's your date anyway? Bet he or she's jealous." asked Joe.

"Date? Uh, I didn't bring one." Said Max, she had her head down and her right hand on her left arm.

"What?! A girl as pretty as you? You're kidding." Said Joe, he resisted the urge to go completely scouse and say 'a bird as fuckin' smokin' hot as you? Fuck off!'

"No, I'm serious." She laughed, not full of humour but laughing at the fact he didn't believe her.

"What seriously? No way. You're messing with me." Said Joe, he actually truly didn't believe it.

"No really, no one's interested in the quiet introverted girl who takes selfies." Chuckled Max nervously, Joe wasn't having this.

"Well, now you have one." Smiled Joe, but truly, he was bricking it.

"What?" asked Max, startled.

"Yeah, Maxine Caulfield, will you be my date tonight?" asked Joe.

"Yeah, sure ok!" she exclaimed, surprised someone like Joe asked her she thought she was lucky enough with the dance!

Joe hooked his arm with hers and took her to the bar.

"Get my girl here whatever she wants, alright lad? I'll grab some Sangria." said Joe, the barman nodded, she just ordered a soda.

"Sure." He said.

"Just a coke please." She said.

"Party's fuckin' chocka." Said Joe as their drinks arrived.

"What?" asked Max.

"Chocka block, means busy as all hell."

"Oh, yeah it is."

"So, tell me about Maxine Caulfield." Said Joe as he got a beer.

"Nothing much to tell, I was born and raised here for 13 years until my best friend Chloe's dad died in a car crash." Explained Max.

"He was like your own father?" asked Joe.

"Yeah, he was amazing, my dad is awesome too, but William blew him out of the water, nuclear bomb style." Said Max.

"I know what that's like, go on." Gestured Joe for her to continue.

"When I moved I didn't keep in contact as much as I should've… when I came back, a month after I did, she was shot in front of me in the girl's bathroom." Said Max, sounding sad but she was strong, Joe knew it, he could see it in her eyes.

"Fuck me, that's fuckin' bollocks that, you must've been proper devoed, proper gutted." Said Joe.

"Yeah, it was hard, but she was in a lot of pain here, the guy who did it's locked up now, thank God." Said Max.

"Shit love, that's… fuck me." Joe shook his head.

"Yeah, your turn. Tell me about Joe, or should I say 'The Wolf'?" asked Max.

"Ah, you heard our toast." Nodded Joe.

"Yeah, kinda. And your tattoos."

"The Wolf and The Crow are dead, as far as anyone knows, and it's gonna stay that way."

"Sure, what you say will not be repeated."

"Ok, my life was normal, average as anything until I turned 13." Said Joe, Max could see memories flashing in his eyes. "It's amazing how one moment, one errant twitch in time, can change yer whole life in a heartbeat." Said Joe, now staring into his drink.

"I know how that feels, go on."

"I was 13 when The Blasphemers, a biker crew, killed my little cousins in a gang war, completely by accident, but I was there, I saw it all and was powerless to stop it. The Forgotten, another crew who actually looked after the community, gave me the chance for revenge, I joined up and after a few months, they recruited Lee. Lee and I were already friends then. The Pups were the newbies assigned under The Wolf because they hadn't earned their tattoos and I was one of them, Lee was a Jaybird, under The Crow. Eventually I became a Mutt and Lee became an Eagle. After a while both leaders were killed when a truck pulled out in front of them, and they ended up face first on the tarmac alongside their actual faces. The others then decided Lee and I should become the new Crow and Wolf, we got our tats and that was that. We were 15. Then afterwards the club leadership started to get corrupt, complacent and they asked me and Lee to do things we didn't want to do. After a while we'd just about had enough. And when the Blasphemers found out where Lee lived, they killed Lee's girlfriend… so we decided to leave. We faked our deaths in a gas station explosion and ran." Explained Joe.

"Wow, that's… way more fucked up than mine or Chloe's life." Max shook her head in disbelief.

"Yeah, one of the conditions from the gang was you had a spirit animal, mine was a wolf, but when I started in the club, I lacked spirit and therefore the privilege to get my animal tats, so I was a pup, untrained. When I became The Wolf I was one of the most feared men in Britain, not only because The Wolf had a reputation for being ruthless to the clubs enemies, but because of my combat skill. They didn't know I wasn't the original Wolf. The condition of having the animal was you had to surround yourself with that particular animal once you got your tats. I still surround myself with it because it gives me strength, Wolves are independent, strong, capable, a challenge on their own but can hunt in a pack if need be. They can be stealthy, blend in, until the time to strike." Explained Joe.

"Makes sense. What would I be?" Asked Max.

"You? An owl, the information gatherers, the ones who blend in." said Joe, they smiled at each other for a while, their faces got closer and-

"Oh so you're with her? I see, I'm not good enough for you but this attention seeking whore is?" came a voice, both Max and Joe turned around to see Victoria.

'Shit… she asked Joe to be her date but he shot her down? But… he chose me? Why?' thought Max.

"And your name is…?" asked Joe.

"Victoria Chase." She replied with a hand on her hip.

"Nice to meet you Victoria, but I'd like to enjoy a drink with my date thanks." Nodded Joe and turned back around, ignoring her.

"What-? You-! That- ughh!" she exclaimed in frustration and stormed off.

"You shot Victoria fucking Chase down? Why? She's so much prettier, smarter, and has a better fashion sense than me…" said Max, looking down.

"Maxi, look at me." He said and put his knuckle on her chin, lifting it up. "This is gonna sound so cheesy, but you are beautiful, in fact you're gorgeous, by far the best looking girl here." Said Joe, no humour in his words, no falsities.

"Really?" asked Max.

"Yeah, I really like you Max, like more than a friend. I don't find Victoria attractive in the least. Not as much as you. To you, she doesn't compare." Said Joe, he brought her lips to his and kissed her lightly.

'I know this'll sound cheesy again, but this is what heaven must taste like' thought Joe as he put his hands around Max's waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. His heart picking up the pace.

-Meanwhile, on the other side of the bar-

"Where the fuck is Joe?" asked Lee to himself, shaking his head.

He groaned and put his head in his hands when he saw Joe kissing Max.

"That prick has a date but not me? ... what the fuck?!" asked Lee, throwing his hands up in the air, messing around. While Joe was still kissing, he gave Lee the finger while not breaking his embrace with Max.

"Hey, you ok?" came a voice.

"Hmm?" Lee looked up to see Juliet. "Oh hey, wassup?" he asked.

"Just broke up with my boyfriend, Zach, turned out he was fucking Victoria Chase on the side." She said and sat next to him.

"Tell you what, order whatever you want on me." Said Lee and decided to start talking to Juliet.

"Thanks." She said.


End file.
